In a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) deployment, a Network Management Station (NMS) often polls various network devices (such as routers and/or switches) for management data related to their performance and/or health. In the event that such an SNMP deployment includes multiple NMSes, each of the NMSes may poll the various network devices for the same management data. For example, during any given polling cycle, an NMS may send a request for certain management data to a network device that facilitates network traffic within a network. Similarly, during the same polling cycle, another NMS may send a separate request for the same management data to the network device. As a result, the network device may service these requests separately by executing the same code sequence multiple times during the polling cycle, thereby potentially leading to superfluous processing and/or inefficient resource consumption.
The instant disclosure, therefore, identifies and addresses a need for additional and improved apparatuses, systems, and methods for distributing management data in multi-NMS environments.